Hi Abhishek,
Amazing performance, especially in the first three rounds! It's nice to see that you're playing openings which are not gambits 
. And nice job picking up a bunch of rating points, too. If you were just a bit more consistent you would have ended up way over 2100...
Really good games, also. There are a lot of older players out there who are still very strong but also underrated because they haven't played for a while.
You should get more sleep. I'm not exactly the guy to give you this kind of advice, since I always stay up past midnight (tournament or not) but 2:20 AM because "you still had some homework to do?" Come on!
Well, one day I will crack that weird Chigorin opening of yours. Until then, more short draws in the Albin Counter Gambit! 
Good luck on the rest of your tournaments!
Sometimes, it's always beneficial for a chess tournament to put all your doubts and worries aside and just focus on the chess. Forget about all your homework or all the other things you could do but chess. It was challenging for me, but it was one of the major things that helped me succeed. I played in the 50th American Open held in Orange County, in the Double Tree hotel. The tournament place being only two exits away from Disneyland really bothered me at the start of the tournament. I thought: while everyone enjoys their thanksgiving, I have to spend a lot of it driving for a chess tournament. I was already having a lot of misgivings about playing, since there weren't that many people in my section; only 41 were playing in total and around 24 were playing in 4 day. These doubts remained even after the first game! It was the good results in the end that made me not regret attending this tournament.
Ever since the Pan-American Youth, I had gotten a new coach. My #1 goal was to fix my openings. I had so much more potential to beat my opponents this way, instead of losing the opening battle more than half the time. I still kept my aggressive style but this time I'm not always willing to lash out immediately and get hit with a huge counterattack. I was still trying this style out, and I had played a tournament in the beginning of November with a rather mediocre result. I played in the expert (2000-2199) section and got only 1900's to play! I decided for U2200 mainly because I felt like I wasn't ready for the Open and I needed some confidence against people my level and better (or slightly worse) with my new, revamped style.
The car ride was boring (as usual), but I was dreading the tournament, and when we reached the playing place (right at the start of the round), I didn't even care if I got crushed the first game or not. The irritating part about the hotel is that it charged $10 for parking. We payed a lot for the entry fee so they should offer free parking as a courtesy!
Anyway, there were these weird barriers that made it hard to park anywhere else. Every store was closed on Thanksgiving! Soon, I got to the playing hall 15 minutes late, but I was only 5 minutes late because of the late start. The time control was 40 moves/2 hours Sudden death in 1 hour, with a 5 second delay.
I was paired against a 2002. I thought he wasn't that special, but turns out I was wrong! He was really old and it was honestly quite amazing how he's still 2000 despite being (80+!). He was a veteran, having played in this tournament since 1965 (!), and had achieved the NM title in 1992, with a peak of 2255. (Of course, I only found this out after some research).
The first moves I played I kept getting up a lot since I basically just came out stuck in a car for several hours. Enough story, here's the game:
I'm used to playing someone way above or below me, but this section was more packed together than usual. Even though I played someone from the bottom half it was a tough fight, and I needed to play accurately.
After settling into my hotel (5 miles away from Doubletree), I took a mid-Thanksgiving nap, and it was time for the next game the same day! 7 hour road trip, and two long games in the same day?
The pairing I got was an absolute SURPRISE! I thought, if I started at the end of the top half, I should get someone around the middle, maybe 2110. But I ended up facing the #1 seed! (for the 4-day section) I was on BOARD 1. IN ROUND 2. I, of course, thought this would only happen once and I better savor it now.
I played a 12 year old who was already 2161! I was playing black again. His opening was sharp and I didn't know how to counter it, so I settled for a slightly worse position with some plans. I'm not sure if I was surprised that greediness was part of his undoing-- he did appear like that from the start. The game got into the late hours (it started at 7:30 p.m. and it was 11:00 p.m. then) and he made blunder after blunder, and I emerged victorious. Luckily, I had my little Starbucks mocha that day and I was coursed with adrenaline at the end while my opponent was struggling to stay awake. Here's the thrilling game:
I don't even know how I managed to get that much energy- of course I had trouble sleeping after that game. If you think that was long, wait till you see the next ones!
I already knew how big of a challenge I had to face. I ended up playing another 12 year old, rated 2170! I wasn't expecting to survive, but I may as well try. The opening ended up a fail for me, then I managed to trade off into an equal ending. I offered him a draw since I saw no way to do anything, but to my surprise, he declined! In a K+P ending I just had to trust my calculation and I won after nearly 5 hours of play. Here's the game:
I was ecstatic after that game. ME? 3-0? WHAT?? Well I always do things like this. In the Pan-American I started with 5-0, but I only scored 0.5 out of the last 4. I was determined to keep playing how I played. This new me, is it really true? Have I finally changed for the better? These were my thoughts after the game. There were only 2 (!) people with 3.0: Me and WFM Agata Bykovtsev (the eventual co winner of the tournament). So that was surprising.
It was pretty obvious who I was gonna play, but her game was still going on when I finished.
I decided not to think about it; I got some delectable lunch, and took a nap. Meanwhile, my dad went Black Friday shopping!
So we were all in a good move.
There was a debate within myself if I should have offered a draw or not; but I think I was justified since I had no idea i had a slight advantage and if he had played more accurately it would have been a draw.
So after yet ANOTHER nap in the hotel I washed my face and prepared for the next game; I was black against the WFM. It was kinda funny since I JUST played her at the beginning of November. I was white and I lost, since I overextended my pawns to attack when I should have chose a different strategy. I think I've improved a bit since then!
In the game my opening went really well; my opponent played the Spanish bind, which I've only played 1 game against so far. A complex middlegame was reached, and there were multiple plans in mind. She emerged with a better position after I couldn't do much on the queenside, but then, something weird happened after 3 hours when time control was reached; the WEIRDEST position with her two pawns up occured. She had 8 pawns and I had 6, but her extra pawns were doubled and weak. Then, she got super creative and used all of her remaining time to find a way to break through! After 68 moves and 6+ hours, I shook her hand at 1:15 a.m. Here's the looong game:
So even though I lost, I was still very proud of that game not only because I lasted so long but I put up a really good fight and made her use all her time to think of a way to win (after she complicated it). Additionally, it was very instructive to see where I went wrong for the future.
I slept at 2 a.m. that night so obviously I was super sleepy in the morning. And great, the game was an hour earlier. I think on normal school days if I sleep that late I don't survive the next day, but for this I feel like more awake, like it doesn't really affect me much.
I think this upcoming game was really my only low point of the tournament. The high was the end of round 3 obviously. With 3.0/4 I was still near the top, but now there were 3 and 4 day sections. I ended up playing a 2108. It was another 6 hour game, but it was pretty much decided after time control. The reason being that in an equal position I went for a wrong decision (in time trouble) and ended up in a worse rook endgame. What was worse was that I probably could have kept my position until time control at least and then do something. I got really impatient and ended up losing in an equal position when really a draw is not even bad. Which was really irritating since I do that a lot. I always try risky things when there are a few pieces left or little attacking chances and the position seems to be a draw, but I end up losing. That's part of the reason why I don't like drawing. I think in the future, I won't do things like that unless I'm confident or my opponent is weaker than me. I need to make better decisions. And today I'm glad I finally realized that weakness with my play. I'm hoping to be new and improved, always considering a draw. Enough self-reflection, here's the game!:
I knew that now was not the time to think of what I should have done. I still have 3/5. Now, I'm much more carefree. Even though I lost, I found myself less anxious or stressed. It was weird, because I lost two games in a row, but my opponents were higher rated than me and they were both really good fights. I always said before the games that Win, Lose, or Draw it wouldn't matter to me. I lost, but I didn't feel let down or anything. It didn't really affect me, so that probably helped me start doing well again. My play did deteriorate a little bit since the beginning but it still was effective.
I got a sandwich and barely had time to eat a half of it before I headed back for the next game (late, of course).
Now, I didn't check the pairings in advance so I just had to see the pairing sheet. Turns out I was playing someone who draws a lot of his games! It was ironic since I'm the one who avoids draws at all costs, so it was kind of a blessing to be playing my opposite. I knew I was in control now. I've played this person nearly two years ago and won quite easily, but now I face him again (same colors).
The game started with the same opening as last time, so I chose something different but I had to work everything out in the opening. He eventually struck in the center before I could castle, almost forcing me to triple my pawns. I ended up in an endgame where I had tripled c pawns but I was a pawn up. Since my pieces had greater mobility and I had more pieces out I soon won (though I got myself into time pressure pretty early on, under pressure for the rest of the game). Here's the game:
That game helped me get my confidence back. It was also my opponent's first loss (he had a win and 4 draws) and only loss of the tournament. That reassured me a little since maybe not going for a draw has its benefits.
It was a pretty relaxing day, except for the fact that the games were at 10 am the next day. It wasn't a big problem, however. I was taking a bye for the last round since I had school the next day and the games were too long.
I had 4/6, so I got a good pairing for the last round. My last round opponent was also an NM and was 2200 for a really long time. Also was the comforting fact that I was playing on Board 3 of my section! Even though I lost two games, I ended up so high. The earlier I finished, the earlier we could drive home. There was no pressure on me, however. Weirdly, I actually had a proper breakfast rather than not eating much because I was too anxious or it was too early or something, so I was in a better mood.
The game had a weird opening and I was debating for an excessively long time over which queen square I should choose, and of course it ended up wrong. I sacrificed a pawn which wasn't taken the right way and after he forced an endgame (two knights and two rooks vs. two bishops) I ended up saving the draw. It was really funny since for the last two moves he was just muttering "draw" to himself without offering it, and making weird hand motions. I would call the TD but of course the game was nearly over and he offered me a draw. It was even funnier since he had a thick Russian accent
. At the end, he did actually possess an advantage so he should have looked deeper in the position actually. Here's the game:
It's actually rare when I draw, but it's probably gonna become more common. Since I took a bye in the last round and my game didn't need the extra hour, I had lots of time!
There was a side tournament that day (a G/30 five round tournament), so some players managed to play that event AND the main event. So basically they had to run, finish their 30 minute game, and come back to the real one, since the times were overlapping. Playing two chess games at once? That is risky!
Since I took a last round bye I finished with 5/8, barely not enough to get any money. But I wasn't really aiming for money anyway. I finished tied for 7th!! I started as #17 so it was a really good accomplishment. I managed to beat and draw 2100's, and all my opponents were 2100's except for 2 of them! The goal of the tournament was to practice my new style and to get my confidence and it really worked. I reached a new peak rating of 2092!
After getting an endgame book for my "Plus Score gift certificate" and a big commemorative medal, it was time to drive home.
And it was the absolute WORST time to drive since EVERYONE was going home from the holidays. All I heard on the radio was about "how bad the holiday traffic is this year" and I saw signs saying "EXPECT DELAYS HOLIDAY TRAFFIC". It was SO bad that it took 30 minutes for only 3 miles! I could RUN faster than that. We were going at a snail's pace and I reached home at 1:30 a.m., trying to sleep with a seatbelt on and my head against the pillow, which was against the car door. Not the best position to sleep in. Then I realized I still had some homework to do, so I ended up sleeping at 2:20 a.m. But I had to wake up at 6:30 for school. Great.
Here are the standings if you're interested: http://americanopen.org/main-tournament/standings-4day Find the U2200 section.
Congratulations to WFM Agata Bykotvsev and Kenneth Odeh for first with 6.5/8!
Thanks for reading!